Romance: Seducing The Quarterback (41 page)

The next six months consisted of Kate and Jonathan settling
into a routine. Kate got her son enrolled in the local elementary school. She
figured out what days were the best to shop and what farmer’s market stands
carried the best fruit and vegetables. She made friends with the women on the
PTA. She cooked, and cleaned and enjoyed being a wife.

It had been a long time since things were this simple, she
told herself on a regular basis. She and Matthew had always struggled with
money. He worked as a bus mechanic in Kansas City and she took part-time jobs
as she could find them in Avondale. They had met their sophomore year of high
school and fell in love. At 20, they married and pledged eternity to one
another. At 25 they had Jonathan. From that point on Kate had planned to be a
full time mother. At 27, Matthew was drafted for the war effort. And at 27
years, 10 months and 22 days, the Army said Matthew was killed in Japan.

Five years later, Kate still didn’t believe his death was
real. There was no body to be returned. She still felt his presences. She still
felt married to him. She believed if he were really dead, she would stop
feeling him here with her. Her friends told her she was in denial. That she was
refusing to believe he died because she didn’t want to move on with her life.
Kate tried to believe them, but deep down she could not.

Matthew was her soul mate. However, she found herself
growing to love Michael. He was kind, gentle, gracious, and giving. He thought
the world of her. He took care of her and Jonathan. He praised her as a
homemaker and a mother. He was good to her. Her appreciation changed from just
being grateful she could keep her son to a genuine fondness for her new
husband.

On November 17, six months, five days after she arrived in
Sacramento, six months from the morning she married Michael, she was in the
kitchen cleaning up after breakfast. Jonathan had left for school and Michael
was out on a consulting job. It was cold and gray and a wind blew.

There was a knock at the front door. Kate dried her hands on
the skirt of her apron and walked to answer it. A young man in an Army dress
uniform stood at the door. Kate’s heart fell. The last time a man like this
arrived unannounced at her door, he told her Matthew was dead.

“Mrs. Summers?” he asked.

“It’s Mrs. White now, but I was Kate Summers,” she corrected
him.

“You were married to Matthew Summers, correct?” the man
asked.

“Yes, until he died in the war.” Kate was confused.
Matthew’s pension and payment for his death had been fully paid. She could not
figure out why the Army had tracked her down more than 2,000 miles away from
where she and Matthew lived.

“I am here to inform you that we have made a mistake.
Sergeant Matthew Summers was not killed in Japan. A Colonel Matthew Gary
Summers was killed in Okinawa. Sergeant Matthew Summers was taken as a prisoner
of war. We have located and liberated him. He is being debriefed in Guam. He
will arrive in Alameda, California on November 21.” The man passed her an
envelope.

Kate took it and looked at the man. “The Army apologizes for
and inconvenience this may have caused you. We have informed Sergeant Summers
of the mix up. You will need to repay the death benefits you received.
Information about repayment plans as well as the arrival information for
Sergeant Summers is in the envelope.”

Tears streamed down Kate’s face. She felt like she had
entered a parallel universe.  When she was first informed of her husband’s death
she fantasized that something like this would happen. She had pushed that
fantasy aside as financial need interceded. Now, married for six months to a
truly good man, the Army was saying, “Whoops, we made a boo-boo.” She felt like
she was watching herself. This could not be real.

“Good afternoon, ma’am.” The soldier turned and descended
her steps.

Kate stood in the doorway and watched the man drive away. As
he turned the corner at the end of the block, she realized she had not heard
anything since he apologized. She turned slowly and shut door. She walked to
the couch and sank into it. Sobs rocked her body.

For five years now she had been carrying the grief of losing
her true love. She had struggled to keep their son. She had done what was
necessary and married a man to take care of her. “Oh god!” she though, “And I
have had sex with another man! I have told another man I love him!” She felt
sick. She knew her body was right in telling her Matthew was alive. Her friends
were wrong. True love had kept them connected. She denied that for practical
reasons!

Kate rushed to the bathroom. She ran cold water in the sink
and splashed her face. She braced herself on the counter and cried. Tears
dripped down and splashed on the tile counter top. Kate sunk to the floor.

She wiped her eyes with toilet paper and sat against the
tub. Numb. She was numb. The only sound she heard was her own crying. Her brain
tried to make sense of everything but failed. Slowly, her crying subsided and
she sat in quite staring at the vanity. She didn’t hear Michael open the front
door.

There was a soft knock on the bathroom door and Michael
pushed it open. He stood there, holding a piece of paper with the Army’s
letterhead. He looked at Kate sitting on the floor, tear-stained cheeks, a pile
of tissues in the trashcan, and his heart broke for her.

“I saw this,” he waived the letter gently. “I don’t know
what to say.”

Michael lowered himself to the floor next to Kate. He put
his arm around her and pulled her into his chest. He held her and stroked her
hair. “We will figure this out. We don’t have to do it tonight, but
we
will
figure this out,” he emphasized the “we” to let his wife know they were in this
together.

The next day, Michael called in sick to work. After Jonathan
left for school, Michael found Kate in the kitchen doing dishes. “We should
talk,” he said gently.

“I don’t know what to say,” Kate stared at the sink.

Michael poured himself another cup of coffee and sat at the
table. “Matthew was your husband. I know how much you loved him. I know you
believed he was dead. That is the only reason you agreed to marry me.”

Kate kept her back to him but nodded in agreement.

“I also know I love you and Jonathan. I love having you as
my wife and him as my son. When I asked you to marry me, I vowed to take care
of the two of you as long as I lived.” Michael was emphatic about his love for
his wife.

“I want you as my wife, but I think you should be there when
Matthew arrives next week. I can drive you if you want.” Michael sat quietly
awaiting a response.

“I don’t know what to do,” Kate said in a forced whisper.
Tears fell into the dishwater.

* * * *

Two days before Matthew was to arrive in Alameda, Kate lay
next to Michael in bed. They hadn’t had sex or even kissed since the letter
arrived. Michael held Kate at night as she tossed and turned. He had refrained
from touching her intimately, which was strange. Since their wedding night, she
and Michael had had sex at least once a day.

Kate clicked on the small bedside lamp and looked at
Michael. “I think I want to see Matthew. Alone.” She held her breath and waited
for a reply.

“Okay. Do you want me to drive you then leave you two alone
or do you want to drive?” Michael resorted to being practical about this. He
hurt with the idea that his wife would leave him but he knew she was going
through something he could not imagine.

“I will drive. I do not want to take Jonathan. I haven’t
told him yet,” she looked at Michael.

“Ok. As long as this is what you need, I will support you,”
Michael said.

Kate rolled over and turned off the light. She placed her
head on Michael’s chest and sighed. His heart was beating faster than usual.
Kate could feel the tension her new husband was containing in his body. She
knew he had to be scared and worried. His grace and kindness in this situation
washed over her.

She moved her hand from his chest to his thigh. She curled
her fingers and ran her nails up the inside of this thigh, a very tender spot.
Michael moved a bit, but said nothing. Kate gently scratched his other thigh.
She felt him breathe out.

Her hand found his soft cock and stroked it. Michael placed
a large palm between Kate’s shoulders and kissed her head. Kate moved onto her
knees and slipped beneath the covers. Holding Michael’s balls in one hand, she
sucked his cock in between her lips. Even soft, he was large. Just the head of
his cock was enough to fill her mouth.

She flicked the head of his cock with her tongue and gently
squeezed his balls. He began to grow hard. She opened her mouth wide and took
in as much of his cock as she could. She stoked his shaft as she worked the top
of his cock with her mouth. Spit dripped down Michael’s hard member and
lubricated Kate’s strokes.

When he was fully erect, Kate straddled him. She raised
herself up on her knees and sank down onto Michael’s enormous cock. She rocked
slowly back and forth, her fingers squeezing his nipples. Michael reciprocated,
pinching Kate’s nipples until they were taunt and large.

Kate rocked fastest, pushing Michael deep into her. The more
he flicked her nipples, the wetter she became. Her juices covered his cock and
pubic hair. She leaned forward to pump faster.

Michael grabbed her hips and held her in place four inches
above the base of his cock. He thrust himself into her, fast and hard. Kate
reached down to stroke her clit. Michael felt her pussy began to tighten.

He pulled out, and without a word, climbed behind her. Kate
bent over, flattening her chest to the bed, ass high in the air. Michael knelt
between her legs and drove his cock into her. He held her in place while he
thrust deep and fast into his wife. Kate reached between her legs and stroked
her clit.

Michael dipped his left thumb in her pussy juices and pushed
it into her ass. Her tight hole cinched up around his large thumb. She moaned
loudly. Michael pressed his thumb deep into her ass, holding it there as his
cock threatened to split her pussy open.

Kate felt the head of Michael’s cock begin to expand in her.
She quickened her strokes on her clit. Michael thrust deep and held himself in
her as he came. His pulsing pushed Kate to climax. Michael felt her contract
around his cock and her ass gripped his thumb.

He pulled out of her gently, wrapped his robe around him and
walked to the bathroom to clean up. Kate lay in bed and listened to him. She
heard the door close and water run. Then the toilet flushed. More running water
and then the door opened.

Michael returned and crawled into bed. He hugged Kate close
to him. “I needed that, thank you,” he said quietly and kissed her neck. “I
don’t know what will happen next, but I love you and you have made me very
happy for the past eighteen months.”

Michael hugged Kate tightly. Silent tears began to fall for
her. She loved Michael. She was immensely grateful for his support and help. He
was a good man. However, Matthew was her first love. They had a child together.
He was coming home from a POW camp and didn’t know his wife had remarried. She
didn’t know what she was going to do.

November 21
^st
began as a bright winter day. The
sun was harsh in the clear blue sky and morning brought a brisk 40 degrees.
Kate helped Jonathan get ready for school. As she kissed him good-bye, she
reminded him, “Mommy has to go to Alameda today. That is a long drive. I won’t
be home when you get back from school. Ruth will be here to take care of you
until Michael gets home.”

Once Jonathan had boarded the school bus, Kate checked her
make-up one final time, picked up her purse and the list of directions to the
base where Matthew would land at 2:00 PM. She turned and looked at Michael. His
eyes were welling with tears.

“I love you, I do,” Kate said. “But I need to see Matthew. I
need to do this alone. I am sorry.” She hugged Michael and held the embrace.

“I know you do,” he said flatly and held her tight. “I love
you and I love Jonathan.”

They released. Michael handed her the car keys. “I hope
everything goes okay. I will count on seeing you tonight.”

Kate nodded. “I should be home by nine.” Tears slipped down
her cheek as she left.

* * * * *

Kate stood in the small receiving room on the Alameda base.
A wall of windows faced the tarmac. She was surrounded by the wives of career
Army men waiting their husbands to return from deployments and trainings. Two
guards sat in the back of the room.

A large green-gray plane pulled up and stopped. The stairs
were wheeled over and locked into place. The women stood, some holding their
children’s hands or their babies in their arms, to watch their men come home.
The private in the room opened the door to the tarmac as the men began
deplaning. Women rushed outside, looking for their partners. Kate stood frozen
at the window. She did not know what to expect.

As women and children hugged men in military uniforms, Kate
held her breath. A man stood at the top of the stairs and scanned the area. He
could be Matthew, she thought. But the man in the plane door was thin, very
thin and looked a lot older than Matthew should look at 37.

The man continued to scan the crowd. Kate stood at the
window and watched. He reached the ground and looked around. He clearly
couldn’t find his party he was supposed to meet. He began to push his way
through the crowd toward the small building. Kate watched him.

The man reached the door of the receiving room. He looked
around.  A private sat at the desk on one end of the room. Kate turned toward
him, but remained by the window.

The man looked at her, “Kate?” he asked quietly.

She nodded and began to cry. Matthew ran to her, hugged her
and squeezed her tight. “I have been dreaming about this for five years!” he
said. They hugged each other and cried.

Finally, Matthew wiped his eyes. “I have missed you so much.
I thought about you every day while I was away. You kept me going. That, and
seeing you and our son again.” He wiped more tears away.

Kate smiled, “I didn’t think this was possible. They told me
you were dead,” she said, tears still streaming. “We had a funeral. They told
me you died.”

Matthew hugged her again. “I know. They told me they made a
mistake. They mixed up my name.” He was quiet for a moment. “They told me you
had remarried and were living in California.” He paused and looked at Kate.

Kate nodded, still crying. “I’m sorry. They told me you were
dead.” The word “dead” barely made it past her lips.

“I understand, I think.” Matthew stood there, looking at his
wife who just confirmed she married another man.

“Can we go somewhere and talk?” he asked.

“Sure, I have a car.” Kate motioned toward the parking lot.

The POW and his wife, now remarried, walked in silence to
the car. When they reached the Chevy, Kate unlocked the doors. “Very nice! You
married rich?” Matthew asked.

“He has a little money,” Kate said, suddenly feeling very
guilty for her choice. “I had to do something so I could keep Jonathan.”

They got into the car. Kate put the keys in the ignition,
but didn’t know where to go. She looked at Matthew. “I missed you every day
since you left. I think about you all the time. I didn’t want to believe you
were dead, but everyone kept telling me you died and I had to move on. They said
if I believed you were alive I would hurt Jonathan.” Tears began to fall again.

Matthew placed his hand on his wife’s thigh. “I know. When I
was in Guam they showed me the telegram. They told me they paid death benefits.
They told me you remarried earlier this year. I know you had no reason to think
I was still alive when the Army didn’t.”

“I waited for four years,” Kate said, looking to Matthew for
forgiveness.

“Do you love him?” Matthew asked.

Kate had been living in fear of this question for the past
five days. She couldn’t imagine telling Matthew she loved another man. It would
be lying to tell him that Michael was just a practical solution for child
rearing purposes. She had played out lots of different ways of telling him and
imagining his reaction. However, sitting there with him, she realized none of
her options made sense.

“I do, but not in the way I love you,” she said.

Matthew knitted his brows together. “What does that mean?”

“You are my soul mate. I felt your presence every day, even
after they told me you died. Even after I married Michael. I see you in our
son. You are my great love,” Kate touched Matthew’s thigh. “But I am grateful
to Michael. He stepped in to help me and Jonathan stay together. He loves me
and appreciates me. His is good to me and Jonathan. He is a good man. I love
him, but it is more of a deep fondness and care.”

Matthew nodded gently. “Okay. How is Jonathan?” his voice
cracked at the end of the sentence.

“He is happy. His is so BIG! He is in second grade; reading,
writing, he can add and subtract numbers, and he has a lot of friends.” Kate
smiled broadly. Speaking of her healthy, happy son always made her proud and
joyful. “He looks just like you. I have a picture.”

Kate fished in her purse and pulled out a small picture of
Jonathan sitting on the swing in the front of the Orangevale house. “This was
taken two months ago.” She passed the picture to Matthew.

“He’s beautiful,” Matthew whispered. Tears fell as he
touched the image. “I missed everything.” He broke into sobs.

Kate bent over and hugged him. “Not everything. You were
there for the beginning. You will be there for the rest of it,” she continued
to hug Matthew.

Matthew pulled back, “I will be there for the rest of it?”
His eyes flashed hope. “So, you and I and Jonathan will be a family again?”

Kate sat back. “Maybe. I don’t know how to say this.” She
took a deep breath, steadied herself, and looked at Matthew. “I haven’t told
Jonathan that you were alive. I only got word a couple of days ago and haven’t
been able to really take it in myself. Michael is important to me and he has
really helped Jonathan and me. I feel like I own him something.”

Matthew’s face began to fall. Kate saw his hope fading.

“Michael has a guest bedroom in the house. What if you moved
into that bedroom for a while? We can work as a team to help Jonathan
understand what happened. We can raise him together. You will have your family
back, just a little different than before.” Kate’s eyes searched Matthew for
any sign of his reaction.

Matthew sat quietly, not moving. He just looked at his wife.
He never considered this to be an option. He thought he would either come home
or have his family back or that he would come home and she would never come
back. Living with her and her
husband
and Jonathan was not an option he
ever considered. He didn’t know what to make of this idea.

“So?” Kate asked.

“I want my son back. I want you back. I want my family back.
You and Jonathan were what kept me alive for the past five years. I wanted to
come home to
you.
If that means, temporarily, I have to live in another
man’s house, I will do that.” Matthew looked at his wife, she stared back.

“Do you sleep with him?” he asked, crestfallen.

Kate sat in silence for what seemed to her like forever.
“Yes,” she said quietly.

Matthew nodded. “That makes sense. He is your husband.”

Kate nodded in agreement.

“I don’t know how to handle that,” Matthew’s level of
honestly and vulnerability shocked Kate.

“I can stop…” she offered. She thought of Matthew, lying in
the guest bedroom, hearing her and Michael and felt horrible. She could not ask
him to do that. She would not want to hear him with another woman and she would
not ask him to do something she could not.

Matthew nodded gently. He stared out the side window. “This
is going to be really hard, isn’t it?”

“Yes. But I love you. I love our family. I want to make this
work. I just can’t hurt Michael right now. Especially after all he has done for
Jonathan and me.” Kate tried to explain why she couldn’t just move back in with
Matthew. “It is going to be really hard to explain to Jonathan what happened.
He needs his father to help him with that. But he needs other people too.” She
paused and whispered, “I think Michael can help with that.”

Matthew continued to stare out the window and nod.

“You are my wife. He is my son. That is what I know. I am
going to make this work.” Matthew said with determination.

Kate smiled. “I love you. I never stopped loving you. Let’s
go see your family.” She squeezed his knee. As she started the Chevy, she realized
when she said family she included Michael in her thoughts.

This is going to be an adventure, she thought.